Take Small Steps To Go Frugal Without Making Yourself Miserable


Living a frugal lifestyle comes naturally for some people, but if you’re used to eating at restaurants five nights a week and travelling abroad whenever you feel like it, saving up for a new house or to start a family can be pretty painful. The trick, according to Wise Bread, is to make those changes slowly and over time so you don’t set yourself up for failure.

Photo by Images of Money.

One of the two biggest mistakes people make when they try to live a frugal lifestyle, according to Wise Bread, is that they shock themselves into living on the cheap when they’re used to spending their money as they choose. Even if you do a good job of managing money, if you have a lot to play with, stashing it all away suddenly instead of spending it on the things you enjoy can make you so disgruntled you’ll stop saving.

Instead, they suggest making small changes, like brown-bagging your lunch for work a few days a week and cutting back your expensive lunches to one day a week instead of four, or targeting expenses you know you won’t miss instead of slashing your whole budget all at once. This way, you don’t make yourself hate saving money and aren’t as tempted to give up and go back to your old habits.

If you made the transition from spendthrift to thrifty, how did you do it? Share your money-saving tips in the comments below.

The Two Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting to Live Frugally [Wise Bread via The Consumerist]


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